1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printing apparatus that performs heating for fixing ink.
2. Description of the Related Art
The technical field of performing printing for providing printed products which exhibit high weather resistance for use at an outdoor exhibition and the like has attracted attention. According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-45855, emulsion ink applied on a sheet having poor absorbency is heated so that a film is formed, whereby the ink is solidified and fixed on an ink-applied surface of the sheet. The heating is performed by irradiating the ink-applied surface of the sheet with infrared light.
According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-45855, a carriage moves reciprocally between a drying unit and an ink-applied surface of a sheet. Therefore, radiated infrared light is partially blocked by the carriage thus moving. In an area where the carriage moves, infrared light which irradiates a certain position is blocked for a moment of time when the carriage passes, and an irradiation time at each position in the area is made substantially uniform.
What matters here are the moments of time when the moving direction of the carriage is reversed when the carriage performs a reciprocating movement. An inkjet head is smaller than a structure of the carriage that holds the inkjet head. At a reversing position, the structure of the carriage blocks infrared light to be radiated onto an end of an image area on the sheet on which ink has been just applied. Further, at the reversing position, the carriage stops and stays for a certain period of time, and the infrared light irradiation time for the image area that is behind the carriage is shorter than the infrared light irradiation time for other image regions. This can be a factor that causes an insufficient dried state of the image end part, and further, color unevenness of an image.